The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Albaraka Restaurant
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Rank 1. Albaraka Restaurant
Palestinian Middle Eastern
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #32 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 2. Kareem's Falafel
Middle Eastern
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Rank 3. Forn Al Hara
Middle Eastern
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- The Pinnacle Guide 2026 · 2 Pins
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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Rank 7. The Ranch
Steakhouse
An urban steakhouse playing cowboy without irony: beef-forward, but anchored by vegetables from their own farm. The prime rib arrives impossibly tender with cast-iron potatoes and horseradish; popovers come with homemade tomato jam. A place built for sharing and for appetites that match its generous portions.
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Rank 8. Sababa Falafel Shop
Middle Eastern
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Rank 9. Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen
Pakistani Indian
Chef Imran Ali Mookhi wields spices with precision, letting beef sirloin kebabs and Khan biryani sing on a menu that respects carnivores and vegetarians alike. The bright, hip dining room and craft mocktail bar make this South Asian outpost a welcome anomaly on a Mexican-dominated stretch.
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Rank 13. Ramen & Tsukemen TAO
Noodles
A modest storefront in an open-air mall houses bowls of ramen made with uncommon care. The spicy red miso arrives rich and creamy, noodles snappy beneath the surface; the chicken broth runs lighter but no less purposeful. Twenty seats, no pretense, every visit a reason to return.
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Rank 14. Fuoco Pizzeria Napoletana
Neapolitan Pizza
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Rank 15. Kaori Sushi
Sushi
Lanterns crowd the intimate dining counter at Kaori Sushi, tucked into a Fullerton strip mall where the chef's nigiri—golden eye snapper, toro with wasabi, saba layered over shiso—proves the setting irrelevant. The focused menu balances sashimi's clarity with cooked experiments like mara udon and crab risotto, each plate executed with restraint that rewards close attention.
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Inside a nondescript mall corridor, Chef Ben and Ayako Sato run an intimate sushi counter where the menu changes nightly by hand. Kanpachi arrives barely kissed with heat and finished with yuzu; firefly squid yields to tender flesh beneath nori and scallion. What matters here is not the setting but the deliberate care—warm service, precise technique, a kitchen that understands restraint.
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Rank 17. Poppy & Seed
Modern Southern
Inside a greenhouse bar overlooking citrus trees and herbs, Michael and Kwini Reed compose dishes from local farms and waters—shrimp over creamy grits, charred eggplant with steak tartare, Brussels sprouts candied with bacon jam. The setting enforces what the kitchen already knows: restraint and regional sourcing can feel like luxury.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Michael Reed
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 18. Yigah
Authentic Korean
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Rank 19. PhởHolic
Noodles
At this Westminster pho shop, beef broth simmered with anise achieves an almost meditative sweetness, drawing everyone from grandparents to Gen Z devotees. The kitchen forgoes shortcuts despite gentle prices, sending out massive bowls of uncomplicated, deeply satisfying comfort.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · Fifty Under $50
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Rank 21. Tacos Los Cholos
Mexican
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Rank 22. Tiendita
Mexican
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Rank 23. Phở 79
Noodles
Phở 79 has been ladling oxtail-enriched broths since the early eighties, earning its reputation as a Southern California standard. The spartan room with its yellow walls fills nightly, a small price for broth that justifies the wait.
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Rank 24. Angel's Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 25. Tacos Los Cholos
Mexican
- LAist 2023 · Tacos · Best Bites
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Filet mignon tacos · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 26. Amor y Tacos
Mexican
Thomas Ortega brings fine-dining precision to his native Cerritos, where handmade tortillas and house-made salsas meet unexpected flourishes—Coca-Cola glaze on pork belly, Doritos scattered across chilaquiles. His tacos range from crisp beer-battered cod to charred al pastor, each one executing a playful fusion of Mexican tradition and American invention.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Short rib taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 29. Brodard Vietnamese Cuisine
Traditional Vietnamese
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 30. Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen
Regional Mexican
The cooks honor regional Mexican traditions through refined dishes like citrus-kissed achiote pork panuchos, refusing substitutions because they know what they're doing. An open storefront spilling onto Orange's antique-lined street and backlit tequila shelves create an warm, unpretentious setting.
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Rank 31. Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar
Californian New American
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Rank 33. Omakase by Gino
Sushi
A sushi counter in downtown Santa Ana where distressed wood and Japanese touches frame Chef Gino Choi's assured hand—yuzu cream cradling house-cured ikura, flame-kissed tuna over miso. The udon arrives thick and creamy with uni and black truffle, a dish that tastes like joy.
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Rank 34. Nep Cafe
Modern Vietnamese
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Viet Nguyen
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 36. Carnitas Uruapan
Mexican
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Rank 37. Perro Exquisite Taco
Sonoran-Style
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Rank 38. Rajdhani Restaurant
Traditional Indian
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Rank 39. Lola Gaspar
Mexican
Downtown Santa Ana gastropub where Chef Luis Perez's streamlined menu—handmade tortillas, masa-based quekas, churros—reflects a deliberate turn toward quality. Grilled tomato and dried chili salsa tops tacos filled with carnitas and shrimp; vegan mushroom quekas come with confit potatoes and guacamole, cheese optional. The editing is ruthless, the execution isn't.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Citrus marinated chicken taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 40. Alta Baja Market
Mexican
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Rank 41. Knife Pleat
Contemporary French
Nestled above the fashion boutiques of South Coast Plaza, this third-floor dining room glows with the warmth of an open kitchen and a sheltered patio. Chef Tony Esnault's French foundation—steelhead with fennel, barley risotto with chestnut—yields gracefully to global inflection and composed desserts that taste of clarity.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 42. Gusto Bread
Mexican
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Bakery
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Bakery
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
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Rank 43. Taco Nazo
Ensenada-Style
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Rank 45. CHAAK Kitchen
Yucatán Mexican
Smoke and spice from the Yucatán arrive in Tustin through careful hands and an understanding of the peninsula's layered culinary traditions. Charred habanero salsa clings to crisp corn empanadas; cochinita pibil, marinated in citrus and achiote, yields to a fork beside fresh tortillas. It's cooking that takes its ingredients and history seriously, without performing either.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 47. Arturo's Puffy Taco
Tex-Mex
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Rank 48. Bandito Taqueria
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 49. Ammatoli
Modern Middle Eastern
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Dima Habibeh
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 51. Angel's Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 52. Vaca
Rustic Spanish
Amar Santana's rustic tapas bar in Costa Mesa pairs an extensive Spanish wine list with consistently executed small plates in a quirky dining room where the semi-open kitchen holds court. The bikini sandwich—jamón ibérico, Manchego, truffle oil on grilled bread—and golden croquetas de pollo suggest a place more interested in precision than spectacle.
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 54. Heritage
California New American
Philip and Lauren Pretty's single tasting menu in a Rose Park Craftsman spotlights California cooking anchored by their own farm produce, with seasonal fruit threading through dishes like duck with preserved kumquats. The cooking gets details right without fuss, prices reasonably, and tastes like genuine care.
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Rank 55. Marché Moderne
Modern French
The Marneaus' dining room glows with the confidence of a place that knows exactly what it is: a modern kitchen fluent in French tradition, where coq au vin and lobster flambéed in Courvoisier emerge from an open kitchen with the same precision as the house charcuterie sliced on a vintage Berkel. Seasonal cocktails and generous wine pairings bracket meals that feel both familiar and alive.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 57. Nardo
Southern Italian
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Rank 58. Nettuno
Coastal Italian
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Rank 59. Hana re
Sushi
A ten-seat counter hidden in a Costa Mesa strip mall becomes a sanctuary of unhurried precision under Chef Atsushi Yokoyama, who moves from delicate composed dishes—chawanmushi crowned with blue shrimp, braised abalone with uni—into nigiri with the inevitability of ritual. What emerges across the evening is a argument for restraint: excellent fish, simply prepared, allowed to speak for itself.
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Rank 61. Maru Coffee
Korean-Inspired
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Rank 62. Kato
Taiwanese Chinese
Jonathan Yao's tasting menu at Kato announces itself with conviction: fish maw arrives with crab-shell vinegar and caviar; spice-crusted duck nestles into fluffy bao; pig ears blaze with chili oil. The Row DTLA dining room, all polished concrete and open kitchen, becomes an austere stage for cooking that draws boldly from his Taiwanese roots and refuses restraint.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- 50 Best 2025 · #26 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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- LAist 2024 · Smashburger · Best Bites
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #91 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 65. Fable & Spirit
Californian
Overlooking Newport Harbor, this bistro marries seaside elegance with unfussy cooking, from inventive vegetable dishes to a showstopping 12-hour Kurobuta porchetta. The room crackles with the energy of diners who come for more than the views.
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Rank 66. Sushi Ii
Sushi
A spare coastal room overlooks the highway while the chef moves through kaiseki's ceremonial rhythms: tofu crowned with Bafun uni, belt fish paired with dashi-simmered tomato, nigiri of wild flounder and baby sea bream rendered with surgical precision. Seasonal Japanese imports and local catches arrive meticulously composed, each plate a small argument for restraint and timing.
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Rank 67. Sea Harbour
Cantonese Chinese
The dim sum arrives from the kitchen rather than a cart, each dumpling and bun steaming with purpose at this Cantonese standby in Rosemead. The preserved salty egg bun breaks open to reveal a molten yolk; the seafood dishes earn their reputation through exacting technique. What might coast on nostalgia instead commands respect through consistent execution.
- Chinese Restaurant Awards 2025 · #6 · Elite 30 Canada
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Tony Ho
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Rank 68. Terrace by Mix Mix
French/Italian/Filipino
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Rank 69. Koi Japanese Cuisine
Japanese
In a Seal Beach strip mall, experienced chefs command a spare sashimi counter where regulars arrive like family. Orange clams and pristine kampachi give way to delicate nigiri—seabass kissed with yuzu kosho, scallop crowned in uni—while tempura-fried zucchini flowers stuffed with scallops bridge the meal like a palate-cleansing interlude. The place trades trend for craft and rapport.
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Rank 70. Camelia
French Japanese
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 71. Restaurant Ki
Contemporary Korean
Chef Ki Kim's ten-seat Korean tasting menu hides behind an unmarked entrance in downtown Los Angeles, rewarding the hunt with playful dishes like truffle gimbap and charred snap peas with fish roe. Confident cooking threads global ingredients through refined courses, from barbecued squab to mushroom ice cream.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best New Restaurant
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Rank 73. Populaire Modern Bistro
Modern French
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Rank 74. Eat Joy Food
Taiwanese Chinese
Tucked behind a Rowland Heights shopping center off the Pomona Freeway, this Taiwanese restaurant pairs soft piano and generous spacing with a tome of a menu dense in seafood and delicate consommés. The three-cup chicken and salty fish fried rice arrive glossy from the wok, their flavors precise and unhurried.
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Rank 75. Holbox
Coastal Mexican
Gilbert Cetina works a counter inside Mercado La Paloma with the precision of a jeweler, coaxing impossible brightness from aguachile and ceviche with seafood so fresh it arrives still trembling. His grilled lobster and house-made tortillas, dressed in an arsenal of salsas, suggest that restraint and impeccable sourcing need no fanfare.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- 50 Best 2025 · #42 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Gilberto Cetina
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Rank 76. Henry's Cuisine
Cantonese Chinese
A modest storefront on Valley Boulevard where homestyle Cantonese cooking persists with quiet confidence, lobster painted silver and gold adorning the walls as a hint at what the kitchen does best. Salted-egg shrimp arrives delicate and bright; the deep-fried pig's feet crackle like chips; mustard greens with garlic offer a soothing counterpoint. This is cooking for people who know what they want.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #34 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 77. Hayato
Japanese
Chef Brandon Hayato Go orchestrates a single nightly seating where pristine seasonal ingredients—abalone, snow crab, corn—meet his curated Japanese pottery with unhurried precision. Reservations are nearly impossible; the sake list rewards those who secure them.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Brandon Hayato Go
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #5 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 78. Yang’s Kitchen
Asian-American
- Time Out The best Chinese restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Christian Yang
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
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Rank 79. Komal
Mexican
In the Mercado Del Paloma, Chef Fátima Juárez coaxes depth from heirloom corn nixtamalized in-house, each quesadilla and tlacoya a small study in restraint and smoke. The fried plantain in black mole and short-rib tacos demand salsa applied with purpose, not timidity.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · Fátima Juárez
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 80. Selva
Colombian-Inspired
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Rank 81. Baroo
Modern Korean
At a sleek concrete counter in downtown Los Angeles, Kwang Uh and Mina Park orchestrate a tasting menu that pivots between Korean tradition and precise technique. A seared Hokkaido scallop swims in watercress sauce studded with seaweed jelly; silky black cod arrives in a wide bowl where buttermilk is poured tableside. The meal reads as composed and assured, uninterested in noise.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Kwang Uh
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Kwang Uh
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Rank 82. Sushi Nikkei
Nikkei
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- Time Out #13 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #75 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 84. Thunderbolt
Southern-Inspired
- The Pinnacle Guide 2 Pins
- 50 Best 2025 · Sustainable Bar Award
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar
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Rank 85. Chiang Rai
Northern Thai
Inside a forgettable storefront lies a colorful, quirky dining room where Northern Thai specialties shine. The khao soi arrives as thin egg noodles topped with raw ribeye, then blanketed in hot curry broth that cooks the beef to silken tenderness—a dish that justifies the detour to Tustin.
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Rank 86. Damian
Mexican
A converted warehouse in the Arts District with polished concrete and exposed brick, softened by leather seating and trailing plants. The kitchen reads Mexican tradition through a lens of precision—corn tamales, uni tostadas on blue corn, fish tacos that feel both classic and startling. Industrial bones, refined technique, and a terrace that draws crowds.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Jesus "Chuy" Cervantes
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #7 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 87. Luyu Dumplings
Chinese
A shopping-center back room where refrigerators hum and knife work echoes—this is dumpling devotion stripped to essentials. Handmade wrappers encase fillings like pork with lotus root or lamb with fennel; chewy noodles gloss with scallion oil. Comfort is nil, but the food speaks with quiet authority.
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Rank 88. Alebrijes Grill
Mexican
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Rank 89. Tacos La Carreta
Mexican
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Chorreada mixto · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 90. The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar
Californian
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Rank 91. The Attic
Refined Southern
A Craftsman bungalow on East Broadway shelters dining rooms appointed with brick fireplaces and floral wallpaper, where Chef Cameron Slaugh's plates marry Southern tradition with restless technique. Fried chicken and gumbo anchor a menu that pivots toward refinement—bubble and squeak, roasted cauliflower with cracked oats—before closing with powdered beignets and strawberry compote.
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Rank 92. Bistro Na's
Manchu Chinese
Behind a strip-mall facade in Temple City, an expansive dining room in red and gold serves royal Manchu cuisine from the Qing dynasty's imperial kitchens. Signature dishes—shrimp fried whole and crisp, black pepper Angus beef—suggest the place favors opulence over restraint, best tackled with a group.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #88 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 93. LSXO
Vietnamese
Tucked within Huntington Beach's Bluegold, LSXO trades ocean views for a cooler, louder energy—a speakeasy with real conviction. Pork, shrimp and crab dumplings arrive with a peanut-spiked black vinegar that catches fire; the cháo, a silky broth of crab and white fish, justifies the difficulty of getting a table.
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Rank 95. Sushi Yuen
Sushi
Sushi Yuen delivers refined omakase at modest prices, opening each meal with silky shirako and miso black cod that signal the chef's restraint and precision. Seasonal nigiri flows from Japan; a finale of preserved persimmon atop house-made panna cotta lingers.
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Rank 96. Firstborn
Contemporary Chinese
Anthony Wang remixes Chinese-American tradition with disciplined technique—tender tofu dumplings, aged duck with persimmon—in a bright, open kitchen designed for sharing. Desserts like vanilla sponge with red bean sauce suggest a chef thinking beyond the obvious.
- Esquire 2025 · Bartender of the Year · Kenzo Han
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best New Restaurant
- Punch 2025 · Best New Bartenders · Kenzo Han
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Rank 97. Evil Cooks
Mexican
- Food & Wine 2025 · McSatan · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Alex Garcia and Elvia Garcia
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Elvia Garcia and Alex Garcia
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In a strip mall in La Puente, Manohar's Delhi Palace serves unhurried Punjabi cooking with a warmth that extends from kitchen to table. The samosas arrive impossibly crisp, the chicken tikka masala glossy and restrained with spice, each plate suggesting a chef thinking more about balance than bombast.